As they watched the True Intent Cultivators of both sides battle below, the righteous venerables voiced their opinions one after another.
But when one of them mentioned the spatial barrier held in reserve for defense, Sea Bearing Venerable felt as though someone had given him a hint. Something suddenly clicked.
He felt he was close to the truth. If he took a little more time to sort through it, he would surely uncover the Demonic Path side's scheme.
Just then, amid the ceaseless roar, the vast shadows of five grotto-heavens appeared above the Demon Soil, invisible to ordinary eyes.
"Are those the five great demon lairs?"
At the sight, the righteous venerables looked puzzled.
Judging by previous wars between the two sides, the appearance of the demon lairs usually heralded the start of the Demonic Path's all-out assault.
Yet the war had only just begun. They had been fighting for a mere three months. By past experience, the front lines should have worn each other down for at least half a year, perhaps a full year, before the war entered its next stage.
But the Demonic Path had not only sent True Intent Cultivators onto the battlefield ahead of schedule; it had brought out all five demon lairs, the very foundation of its power.
It plainly meant to lock arms with the righteous side and fight in earnest.
Before the righteous venerables could puzzle out why, the five demon lairs crashed to the ground and merged with the boundless Vast Sea Demonic Land.
Then thirty-six demonic clouds and ghostly shadows, each with a different form, rose from the Demon Soil and drifted toward the righteous venerables in the sky.
Below them, flashes of magic marked where True Intent Cultivators had leaped through space. A single glance revealed three or four